The Bayleaf

Chocolatier and chef, Gerard Mendis, partners with Coca-Cola to seek out the best food to enjoy with a refreshing, chilled Coke. Join Gerard as he visits some of Colombo’s top restaurants and chats with their chefs. This week, Gerard visits one of Colombo’s longest standing restaurants to try out this city’s finest Italian cuisine.

The Bayleaf has been ingrained in Colombo`s restaurant circuit for 16 plus years, carrying itself as one of the best Italian restaurants in the city. I visited this iconic restaurant occupying a beautiful 100-year-old colonial home at Gregory’s Road in Colombo 7 and chatted with maestro Italian Chef Saroj Kaluarachi, who brought his 37-years of experience to the table having practised his Italian skills both locally and internationally.

In-between our chat, I sampled iconic Italian dishes prepared by Chef Kaluarachi, each dish meticulously made in-house while still keeping to their Italian roots. 
My first dish was their Antipasto Misto platter- which effortlessly made it into my top three dishes of the night. The platter consisting of soft, fried calamari, tomato mozzarella, smoked salmon, grilled vegetables, beef carpaccio and sauteed mushroom, could easily feed a party of two with a bit of bread on the side.

The Manicotti Con Funghi- also made it into my top three, having been prepared with homemade spinach ravioli stuffed with mushroom, parmesan cheese, served with a cream and cheese sauce. The flavours and technical application needed to make a spinach-based homemade ravioli stood out in this dish.

The Tagliatelle al Granchio - by far the best dish of the night, prepared the same way for over 16-years, earning it the title of being their signature dish. Consisting of homemade fresh pasta tossed with crab meat cream and herbs, with a touch of tomato and a dash of vodka, the dish struck a balance between the crab-based, crunchy sauce and the homemade pasta. The dish truly pairs perfectly with a refreshing sip of Coke. 

Being a “crab guy”, the flavours on the dish stood out to me, while not being too strong on the palette. The use of spices to spruce up this sauce, including oregano and thyme, was unmistakable.

Next came the Filetto di Salmon- which was made using marinated grilled fresh salmon with a bed of spinach, poached egg and mustard cream sauce. Finally, I had the Pizza Pollo- topped with tomato, mozzarella, spicy chicken, roasted capsicum, sauteed onion and baked with precision in authentic Italian style using a woodfired oven.

Italian Passion

In my experience, the best Italian dishes are those made in-house, with the same level of technique and passion used by Italians. The Bayleaf has kept true to this, presenting dishes with that same passion. I have always enjoyed eating here, and I will continue to do so.

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